Bobby pin



L. M. JACKSON 2,737,188

BOBBY PIN Filed July so, 1954 March 6, 1956 m Q Z .jii 10 IN VENTOR La Mi Jadwom F 5 20 1 BY ,7

ATTORNEY BOBBY PIN Lee Marshal Jackson, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to New Era Enterprises, Inc., Ramsey County, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application July 30, 1954, Serial No. 446,722

3 Claims. (Cl. 132-50) This invention relates to an improvement in bobby pins and deals particularly with a self-opening type of pin which may be opened without prying the ends of the pin apart. Various types of devices havebeen produced for spreading the ends of bobby pins apart. Most such structures comprise slidable members which are located in the loop end of the pin and which may slide toward the opposite end to wedge the sides of the pin apart. However, these previous structures have had several difficulties. Certain of such structures require a bobby pin of unusual shape, thereby requiring expensive machinery and dies to produce. Others are arranged with oppositely directed or peripheral channels in which the sides of the pin engage. However, such a structure is easily disengaged from the pin and is accordingly assumed lost. Others of the structures bear ornamental body portions which call attention to the hair pins and also are less comfortable to wear. Such structures are also relatively heavy and accordingly easily lost.

An object of the present invention lies in the provision of a device designed for use with a bobby pin of conventional shape and form. As a result the pins which are in-actual use may be employed and it is only necessary to produce the small element which spreads the sides of the pin apart.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a hobby pin attachment which may be applied to a hair pin of conventional shape and which is retained in place thereupon. While the slide member can bepu t onto, or taken from, a bobby pin of con ventional shape the arrangement is such that it will not become disengaged accidentally even though the prongs, ofa'the pin should be spread apart a greater than normal distance.

An added feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the hair pin attachment is normally restricted in its movement, although the attachment may be forced into or out of place. The attachment includes an aperture through which one prong of the hair pin extends, this aperture is designed to encircle the prong which is corrugated or wavy in appearance. The aperture is preferably slightly narrower than the tops and bottoms of the waves or undulations in the prong. However, as the pin is made of resilient material it can be forced through the aperture by flattening out the undulations slightly as the attachment is attached or removed. With this arrangement the undulations themselves serve as a normal limitation up to movement of the spreading device and the spreader will not move past a predetermined point without increasing the force tending to move the spreading device.

A further feature of the present invention lies in the fact that the spreading device is inconspicuous and does not detract from the appearance of the hair. In preferred form, the spreader is formed of transparent or translucent material which may be colorless or which may be colored. In either event the structure is such as to be as unnoticeable as possible.

These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

Figure 1 is a prospective view of my hobby pin with one spreading device in place.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the bobby pin in closed position.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the spreading device showing portions of the bobby pin prongs extending therethrough.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the undulant prong of a bobby pin with which the device is employed.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view through a bobby pin and spreader, the position of the section being indicated by the line 55 of Figure 2.

The bobby pin A is extremely simple in form, and the major portion of the structure is identical to a hobbypin which is, and has been for some time, on the market. This pin includes a pair of prongs 10 and 11 which are connected at one end by a curved loop 12. The prong 10 is virtually flat, but is slightly concave toward its under or outer surface 13, so as to fit the curvature of the head.

The prong 11 is provided with a portion 14 adjoining the loop 12 which converges toward the prong 10 until it actually contacts the inner surface of the prong 10 or substantially does. At this point 15 the leg 11 bends upwardly away from the prong 10 in a curved area to form an outwardly bowed portion 16. The other end of the outwardly bowed portion 16 is again bent at 17 to form a second outwardly bowed portion 19. This continues throughout the length of the prong 11, the prong being formed into a series of such undulations 20 and terminating in an outwardly diverging extremtween the fingers from either side of the hobby pin oron opposite sides of the prongs of the pin.

As is best indicated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings the generally cylindrical body 22 is provided with a groove 23 in one side thereof, the base 24 of this groove being on a chord of the circular outline. An aperture 25 is also formed in the body 22, which aperture is rectangular in outline and includes top and bottom sides 26 and 27 which are parallel to the base 24 of the groove 23. If preferred, the sides 26 and 27 of the aperture 25 can incline slightly toward the base 24 of the groove 23.

The spreader 22 is preferably constructed of plastic or similar material. A transparent or translucent plastic is preferred so that the slider will be relatively unnoticeable. The body of the spreader may be colored if it is preferred.

The size of the aperture 25 as compared to the depth of the undulations 29 is of importance. Preferably the distance 29 from the top of the undulations in the bobby pin prong 11 to the bottom surface of these undulations is slightly greater than the distance 30 comprising the height of the aperture 25. As a result a slight pressure is required to attach or detach the spreader 22. As the undulated prong 11 is inserted through the aperture 25 the undulations will preferably flatten slightly this being possible because of the flexible nature of the material of which the hair pin "rs "formed. This specific arrangement has certain definite advantages.

While the spreader has been described as an attachment normally it forms a part of the hobby pin when it is purchased and the spreader normally remains in position on the end of the bobby pin throughout its use. However, should it be desired to detach the spreader this may be done by exerting added force upon'the slidable element. Normally, however, the spreader 22 will not slide past the first undulation -16 of the series.

Some difficulty was experienced in previous constructions because of the fact that the spreader could easily slide from between the prongs of the hair pin. This difficulty is not experienced in the present structure. In attempting to correct this difficulty, it has been proposed to provide a stop on one of the prongs which tends to limit movement of the spreader. This causes difliculty as it adds expense to the structure and the stop cannot be used with any spreader which encircles the prong bearing the stop as it would otherwise be necessary to form the stop after the spreader was in place. In the present structure the resilience of the hair pin and the'undulations normally found therein are employed as a means of resisting movement of the spreader.

Some means of limiting movement of the spreader is extremely desirable because of the fact that the bobby pins are normally opened by placing the pin upright upon a fiat surface with the looped end uppermost and by applying a downward pressure upon the spreading element. One prong, preferably the prong 10, is longer than the other sothat the prongs may spread apart while on a fiat surface. Unless care is taken to limit the downward force, the spreader will be pushed to the lower ends of the prongs. By proportioning the spreader in the manner described, this difiiculty can be obviated.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in bobby pins, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A bobby pin including an elongated fiat strip of resilient material including a pair of shanks and an integral connecting loop connecting said shanks at one end thereof, one of said shanks having undulations therein, said shanks converging together from said loop, and a spreader slidably supported on said shanks, said spreader having an aperture therein through which the undulated shank extends, said spreader having a groove therein which is deep relative to the thickness of said other shank and in whichsaid other shankextends, said groove and said aperture being substantially rectangular in cross section and being slightly wider than said shanks, said aperture being slightly smaller in height than the height of said undulations, the surface of said spreader between said shanks being nearly at right angles to the fiat surfaces of said shanks.

2. A bobby pin spreader for use upon a hobby pin comprising an elongated strip of resilient material including apair of shanks and :an integral loop connecting the shanks at one end thereof, said shanks converging together from said loop, the spreader comprising a body of material adapted to "be slidably supported on said shanks, said ,spreader having an aperture therethrough designed to accommodate the undulated shank and said spreader having a groove therein designed to accommodate the other of said shanks, said groove .and said aperture being substantially rectangular in crosssection and being of dimensions to accommodate the shanks engaged therein, with said spreader body projecting laterally beyond said shanks when they are in said aperture and said notch, the end of saidspreader farthest from the ,loop connecting the shanks of the bobby pin when the pin supports the spreader forming a surface between the notch and the aperture which is nearly at right angles ,to'the shanks of the pin.

3. A bobby pin including an elongated flat strip of resilient material including a pair of shanks and an integral connecting loop connecting said shanks at one end thereof, one of said shanks having undulations therein, said shanks converging together from said loop, and a spreader slidably supported on said shanks, said spreader having an aperture therein through which the undulated shank extends, said spreader having a groove therein which is deep relative to the thickness of said other shank and in which said other shank extends, sa'id groove and said aperture being substantially rectangular in cross-section and being slightly wider than said shanks, the surface of said spreader between said shanks being nearly at right angles tothe flat surfaces of said shanks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,724 Creecy Feb. 23, 1897 701,479 Glass June .3, 1902 1,082,333 Hughes Dec. 23, 1913 2,262,223 Chessin vNov. 11, 1941 2,510,821 Hodson ,et 'al June 6, 195.0 2,696,215 Wettley Dec. 7, 19.54 

